Miscommunication
by EternallyEC
Summary: John's jealous and in the end it makes his and Natalie's relationship all the sweeter.


**Disclaimer: **I own Jake; all OLTL characters belong to ABCD. And if you sue me all that you'll get are my two baby sitting charges (hey, sue away... joking, joking please don't).

**Dedications: **To Amanda for inspiring me to write this, naming the guy, and also describing the guy (I told her to describe "the perfect man" lol). You rock girl, thanks for being the other half of my muse!!! Love ya!

**Title: **Miscommunication

"Natalie!" Natalie Buchanan turned around around, and her face lit up at the sight of the six foot two, brunette hunk with green eyes she saw standing there.

"Oh my god! Jake Hunter?" When he nodded she threw her arms around him with a squeal, hugging him tightly as she beamed. Both were completely unaware of the fact that they were being watched from across the street by a very confused and jealous John. He watched as the embrace went on just a little longer than he was comfortable with, and as Natalie pulled out of it he slowly walked across the street.

Jake moved his hands to her waist, looking her up and down as he smiled. "I can't believe this! You look good." She was beaming as she replied, "And what about you? I haven't seen you since senior year and I think you've gotten even more handsome!" She fanned herself as she giggled. "So what's new?"

John moved so that he was standing a few feet behind Natalie and gave Jake a glare.

Jake finished what he was saying, his eyes locked on John. "Know him?" he asked Natalie with a nod to something over her shoulder. She turned around and her eyes darkened as she turned back around.

"That's John, my boyfriend. I'd ask if you want to meet him, but judging by his face this might not be the best time."

Jake nodded, smiling as he took Natalie's hand and wrote a phone number on it. "Got it." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "Give me a call sometime so we can catch up."

Natalie nodded with a smile. "Oh, I will. I've missed you, you know."

"Not as much as I've missed you." He gave her another squeeze before he released her and walked off with a wave.

Natalie took a deep breath and turned around, her arms folded across her chest.

"Hey, John."

"Hey. Who's he?"

"An old friend who I went to high school with."

"You two were pretty touchy-feely just then."

"We were close," she replied with a nod, fighting back a smile as she watched John's jaw tighten.

"How close?"

Natalie sighed and rolled her eyes. "We never dated, if that's what you're asking. Jake was my best friend back then. He stuck up for me when nobody else could be bothered to."

He smiled sheepishly. "I'm being an ass, huh?"

She grinned back and he pulled her into a hug. "Just a little bit." She leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.

"I'm sorry. It's just-- When I saw you with that guy I realized again how lucky I am... and how undeserving. I don't deserve you. You should be with someone like him."

Natalie began to giggle as she kissed John again. He looked bewildered at her reaction. "What's so funny?"

"You think that I should be with Jake?"

"Well not Jake, but somebody like him. He looks like the kind of guy who knows exactly what women want, you know?"

Natalie's giggles, which had begun to subside, suddenly came back as full fledged laughter. After a moment she was finally able to calm down enough to place a gentle hand on his cheek as she gazed into his eyes.

"Honey, Jake's gay."

She had to fight back the laughter that threatened to escape again as John's eyes widened, a comical expression crossing his face.

"He's gay?" he asked in a strangled voice. "Now I feel like an even bigger ass than I did a minute ago."

Natalie found herself feeling guilty as John pulled away and walked off a few feet, turning his back to her.

She walked up behind him, slipping her arms around his waist as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have teased you about it, and for the record? I don't want to be with anyone but you. They don't make guys any better."

John turned around and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you."

"I love you too. I have never been this happy before, and I guess I'm just afraid that it won't last."

John kissed her. "Baby, I love you more than I ever thought was possible. You've done so much for me and I'm not going anywhere."

Natalie smiled and pulled out of the embrace, taking his hand in hers as they slowly began to walk down the street.

FIN


End file.
